Put on the New Self
1If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
5Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: 7In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. 8But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: 11Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
12Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 14And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. 15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Christian Households
18Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. 19Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. 20Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. 21Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.
22Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: 23And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. 25But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
Put On the New Self
(Ephesians 4:17–32)
1 If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory.
5 Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; 6 for which things’ sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience. 7 You also once walked in those, when you lived in them; 8 but now you also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and shameful speaking out of your mouth. 9 Don’t lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings, 10 and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator, 11 where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do. 14 Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord. 17 Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him.
Christian Households
(Ephesians 6:1–4)
18 Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and don’t be bitter against them. 20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, don’t provoke your children, so that they won’t be discouraged.
Serving with Honor
(Ephesians 6:5–9; 1 Timothy 6:1–2)
22 Servants, obey in all things those who are your masters according to the flesh, not just when they are looking, as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. 23 And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he who does wrong will receive again for the wrong that he has done, and there is no partiality.
Put On the New Self
(Ephesians 4:17–32)
1 Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your a life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience. b 7 When you lived among them, you also used to walk in these ways. 8 But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
9 Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices, 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, for to this you were called as members of one body. And be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Christian Households
(Ephesians 6:1–4)
18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.
21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they will not become discouraged.
Serving with Honor
(Ephesians 6:5–9; 1 Timothy 6:1–2)
22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only to please them while they are watching, but with sincerity of heart and fear of the Lord.
23 Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men, 24 because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25 Whoever does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.
Footnotes:
4 a NE, WH, BYZ, and TR our
6 b NE, WH, and Tischendorf do not include on the sons of disobedience .
Put on the New Self
1If, then, ye were raised with the Christ, the things above seek ye, where the Christ is, on the right hand of God seated, 2the things above mind ye, not the things upon the earth, 3for ye did die, and your life hath been hid with the Christ in God; 4when the Christ -- our life -- may be manifested, then also we with him shall be manifested in glory.
5Put to death, then, your members that are upon the earth -- whoredom, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and the covetousness, which is idolatry -- 6because of which things cometh the anger of God upon the sons of the disobedience, 7in which also ye -- ye did walk once, when ye lived in them; 8but now put off, even ye, the whole -- anger, wrath, malice, evil-speaking, filthy talking -- out of your mouth. 9Lie not one to another, having put off the old man with his practices, 10and having put on the new, which is renewed in regard to knowledge, after the image of Him who did create him; 11where there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, foreigner, Scythian, servant, freeman -- but the all and in all -- Christ.
12Put on, therefore, as choice ones of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humble-mindedness, meekness, long-suffering, 13forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any one with any one may have a quarrel, as also the Christ did forgive you -- so also ye; 14and above all these things, have love, which is a bond of the perfection, 15and let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also ye were called in one body, and become thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing each other, in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, in grace singing in your hearts to the Lord; 17and all, whatever ye may do in word or in work, do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus -- giving thanks to the God and Father, through him.
Christian Households
18The wives! be subject to your own husbands, as is fit in the Lord; 19the husbands! love your wives, and be not bitter with them; 20the children! obey the parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord; 21the fathers! vex not your children, lest they be discouraged.
22The servants! obey in all things those who are masters according to the flesh, not in eye-service as men-pleasers, but in simplicity of heart, fearing God; 23and all, whatever ye may do -- out of soul work -- as to the Lord, and not to men, 24having known that from the Lord ye shall receive the recompense of the inheritance -- for the Lord Christ ye serve; 25and he who is doing unrighteously shall receive what he did unrighteously, and there is no acceptance of persons.
The Favor of God paraphrase
Living as Those Made Alive in Christ
¹ Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
⁵ Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶ Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. ⁷ You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸ But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹ Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Living in Love and Unity
¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Instructions for Christian Households
¹⁸ Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. ¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. ²⁰ Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. ²¹ Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
²² Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. ²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ²⁵ Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.
Footnotes:
1.“Set your hearts on things above” (verse 1) encourages believers to focus their desires and aspirations on Christ and His kingdom, rather than being consumed by earthly concerns. The verb zeteo implies an active, ongoing pursuit of heavenly values.
2.“Put to death” (verse 5) conveys the need for decisive action against sinful behaviors. The Greek verb nekroo means to utterly kill or render something powerless. Paul urges believers to completely rid their lives of anything that hinders their relationship with God.
3.“New self” (verse 10) represents the transformation that occurs when someone becomes a follower of Christ. The phrase anakainoumenon indicates a continuous process of renewal, as believers grow in knowledge and Christlikeness.
4.“Bear with each other” (verse 13) uses the Greek word anechomai, which means to patiently endure or put up with someone. Paul emphasizes that Christian love requires a willingness to tolerate imperfections and forgive grievances.
5.“Peace of Christ” (verse 15) refers to the inner tranquility and harmony that comes from knowing and trusting Jesus. The Greek word eirene encompasses both a sense of personal peace and the communal peace that binds believers together as one body.
6.“Submit” (verse 18) in the context of marriage is not about inequality but about mutual respect and loving leadership. The Greek verb hypotasso means to willingly place oneself under another’s care, reflecting Christ’s selfless love for the church.
7.“Work at it with all your heart” (verse 23) challenges believers to give their best effort in all tasks, no matter how small, as an act of worship to the Lord. This perspective shifts focus from earthly approval to divine reward.
